Will You Really Get a $125 Check From Equifax?

News broke early last week that credit reporting agency Equifax agreed to a $700 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission as a punishment for a data breach that affected 147 million people.

Included in that settlement was this nugget: $125 free for anyone whose personal data was affected by the breach. The news went viral.

Other Options Available to Consumers

If you are worrying about waiting in suspense until January, only to receive a check for a few dollars or cents, there are other options available to affected consumers.

The government setup this website, which allows you to enter your name and a portion of your Social Security number to determine whether you qualify. If you do not want the money, you can also accept four years of credit monitoring from all three credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can then receive another six years of credit monitoring through Equifax. This option is available, no matter how many people sign up.

People who had their identity stolen through the data breach may be eligible to receive up to $20,000 in cash from a different portion of the settlement. This will be difficult to prove, however, and will likely require the help of an experienced consumer protection attorney.